


Slow to Fall, Quick to Rise

by Saynomo1197



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Flirting, Confused Jeon Wonwoo, Confused Kim Mingyu, Established Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Eventual Romance, First Dates, Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, No Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Side Wen Junhui | Jun/Xu Minghao | The8
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26558497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saynomo1197/pseuds/Saynomo1197
Summary: Self-certified human disasters Wonwoo and Mingyu try to get along as classmates and project partners after an embarrassing encounter at Jeonghan's party. With a little (read: LOTS) help from their friends, they navigate their relationship to being more than partners.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 7
Kudos: 22





	1. First Impressions are Forever

**Author's Note:**

> I have been wanting to write and publish for a looong time but I finally found the courage now. This is my first ever fic so let me know what you like or don't like in the comments. also, feedback and constructive criticism is more than welcome. I apologize in advance for any errors that slipped past me.  
> Enjoy loves!  
> \- Nomo

“No.,” Wonwoo said with the conviction of a small child being coerced into eating their vegetables. But just like said children, Wonwoo’s act of resistance also fell on the deaf ears of a well-meaning guardian who thinks they know what’s best for their baby. Wonwoo knows this; Jun knows this. But giving up his comfy seat without even trying felt like cowardice Wonwoo tried nonetheless. He felt like he owed it to the ‘quiet people’ of the world, the shy introverts; owed it to his dark academia-art hoe aesthetic. So No. Wonwoo does not want to spend this wonderful Wednesday evening, one of the last before university starts back again, at Jeonghan’s “first party of the year”.

It seems like the start of a bad American YA movie that opens with a scene of chaos and promptly freezes as the protagonist asks us “you must be thinking how I get here… Well…” And then we’re transported anywhere from ten minutes before said scene to the birth of our protagonist’s grandfather (He’s read ‘Midnight’s Children’, thank you very much). However, Wonwoo doesn’t wonder how he got here, he knows exactly how that happened. He has seen it, he was there. He decides it is Jihoon’s fault. His roommate and fellow peace-loving person, is enjoying himself in his hometown, feasting on home-cooked food, free from peer pressure, leaving poor Wonwoo susceptible to their friends’ attempts at getting him out of his dorm and into functioning society.

Jun, his friend, has planted himself on their coffee table and will not leave till Wonwoo leaves with him.He’s tried the good friend- bad friend routine. Starting from “Nonu…. We never see each other anymore” going all the way to “I will never talk to you again if you can’t even attend one party for the sake of your very very best friend!” But that ends now. The clock is inching closer and closer to 8:30 and if they don’t leave real soon, he’s going to be too late to be fashionably late. Oh well. Time for the big guns then. He hunches his shoulder and gently leans towards his friend, who instinctively leans away, looking like a cornered cat, and begins conspiratorially, "I hope you know what you’re doing Wonwoo. I mean you’re not just missing any old party, you know. It’s Jeonghan Hyung’s party.” Wonwoo’s eyes widen slightly at this. “You know none of his parties are _just_ parties right? He keeps track of everyone who comes and doesn’t. He’s probably making a list in his diary as we speak like some kind of mafia boss. He’s gonna judge you. Judge you bad. He’ll never forget your rejection and you will never be forgiven for not making it simply because you didn’t want to. Maybe he’ll taunt you for the rest of your life, maybe he will put up posters with your picture on it that say ‘BEWARE: this man breaks hearts’ or maybe he really will kill you in your sleep. But good luck bro. _I_ have to go. I don’t want to be the one that makes Jeonghan Hyung cry on the dance floor. Hope the book’s worth it.”

He doesn’t even make it halfway to the door before Wonwoo abruptly stands up from the couch looking rightly scared. “I’ll go.” He hears his friend say, voice a little unsteady and moves to put on his sneakers before coming to stand beside Jun. Works with everyone, every damn time, he thinks and leads his friend out by the shoulders.

* * *

Wonwoo _knows_ how this night is going to go. He has done this many times before but it seems he hasn’t learned anything from his experiences at all. He doesn’t know what prompted him to give up his ‘me-time’ for loud noise and cramped bodies but he suspects it was less from the fear of his Hyung and more because Jun was giving ‘ _the speech_ ’ again. And as much as he loves the guy he really thinks he is going to push him off a cliff if he has to talk to him tonight after being so blatantly manipulated.

It seems luck is on his side after all as Jun heads off into a crowd of equally popular looking people leaving Wonwoo alone in the living room of Jeonghan’s off-campus flat. Well, not entirely on his side or he wouldn’t be here but whatever, small mercies he declares and tries to find anyone who he recognises and still trusts to not be too drunk.

He makes small talk with a couple of people who approach him first before he is handed a nice stiff vodka drink that goes a long way into giving him some additional social energy. He is only on his second in a quiet (quieter than the rest) hallway of the apartment making sure he’s put enough time on the clock before he gracefully exits. The host himself is nowhere to be seen but Wonwoo’s sure he’s watching from somewhere. Like a prettier modern-day version of Jay Gatsby. He’s almost moving towards the living room to head back out when someone stops him.

“Umm… Wonwoo right?”

He’s seen this guy around before. But Wonwoo keeps his head down and his eyes on the road most of the times so he can’t say he knows anything about the guy other than the fact that they probably go to the same university. The guy is slightly taller than him and is wearing a baseball cap on the top of his head… indoors… at night. But Wonwoo forgives him this because the face below the cap is _amazing_. He has pretty eyes and plump full lips that have parted to make way for a dazzling smile. His skin is the colour of sweet maple syrup and there’s more than a little of it on display. Even though his loose-fitting white t-shirt is not sleeveless, he has pushed the sleeves back over his broad shoulders and is now casually flexing arms thicker than Wonwoo’s thighs without any regard for the tons of people he must have caused to hyperventilate at the sight. The man is beautiful Wonwoo decides and like any man his age who’s put in intimidatingly attractive company against his will, he clams up.

“I’ve seen you around before.” Tall, dark, handsome continues unaware of Wonwoo’s internal monologue. “Nice turtleneck.” He says easily trying to get Wonwoo to give a response that is not awe mixed with remarkable amounts of gay panic. _Thanks!_ Should have been his response. Or even _thank you you have wonderful arms. Can I touch them?_ But Wonwoo being Wonwoo blurts out “it’s too hot to wear it here.” _Brilliant_ he thinks bitterly while mentally punching himself in the face.

“I can take it off if you want.” Comes the reply. Silence. It takes Wonwoo a solid minute or so more than usual to register what Tall, dark, handsome just said to him. At this point, his most viable options are pass out or run away and because he has some semblance of pride left, he chooses the latter.

“N-No Thank you” he chokes out before what he wants to think of as a ‘hasty exit’ but fell clearly in the ‘terrified fleeing’ category. He’s still walking too fast when he leaves the house and embarrassment starts to creep in. He’s a proper adult and not exactly a virgin. And adults hit on people all the time. That’s what essentially happens at parties. He shouldn’t have run away as if the guy suggested they set fire to the mall or something. He could have been smoother, calmer. _God!_ He thinks.

Fuck! Tall Dark Handsome must think I’m an idiot.

* * *

Mingyu is left frozen, looking at the spot that Jeon Wonwoo had occupied minutes ago. He had seen the other man around the campus throughout his first year. He was tall and slender and looked like he had been pulled out of Mingyu’s hottest fantasies. He had thin lips and dark inky hair. His eyes were sharp and reminded him of a fox so much that he had taken to calling him ‘fox guy’ before he found out his name. He usually looked like he was ready to cut a bitch if disturbed which deterred him from ever striking up a conversation with him but seemed unfairly partial to campus heartthrob Wen Junhui. Huh.

Even today, Wonwoo had walked into the party with Junhui’s arm around his shoulders and the two had promptly separated at the entrance. Mingyu is absolutely not jealous but if Wonwoo was his date he’d stick by his side the whole night, hold his hand while he cycles through polite conversations with acquaintances, whispered pretty things in his ears, maybe pulled him into one of the lonelier rooms and… Okay. Too far. He figured, after watching the man leaning against a wall, looking needlessly attractive, in the dimly lit hallway, eyes flitting between the door and the people crowding the living room, that there was no harm in just talking.

But Wonwoo had looked so uncomfortable that he felt almost guilty for invading his personal space like that. He attempted to lighten the mood by trying to make a small joke but said joke had sounded monumentally better in his head. What was he thinking! He actually asked if he could take off his turtleneck sweater. _Real smooth Kim Mingyu!_ Wonwoo had taken off from the flat before he could apologise for the comment or even really recover from his own shock. Way to go dumbass he thought his campus crush now thinks he’s a creepy pervert or worse… he might have just made a move on Wen Junhui’s boyfriend. He was so getting beaten up in an alley one of these days.

 _You’re the biggest fucking idiot in the universe_ he scolds himself.


	2. Single Degree of Separation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu finds out that at least physically, Jeon Wonwoo is not as far out of reach as he seems. Wonwoo shares his embarrassment with the least helpful people he knows.

Come morning, Mingyu wants to drop kick whoever came up with the whole 'time heals all wounds' bullshit, because it had been a solid 10+ hours since he scared away his one and only college crush and he did not feel even marginally better. If anything, he felt even worse than he did yesterday thanks to all the detailed insight the night of lying awake in his bed had gifted him with. Wonwoo hadn't even looked disgusted with him just... scared... or slightly disturbed even. He had just walked up to the handsome boy, all confidence, like a stereotypical jock-player type guy ( _like that Junhui guy Wonwoo seems to love so much_ his mind supplies) without even introducing himself. Wonwoo should pepper spray him the next time he tries to talk to him.

After remunerating over the first meeting from hell, Mingyu thinks he needs some food if he is going to have more energy to kick himself a little more. He exits his room to join the happy un-creepy people of the world in hopes of some ready-made breakfast from his roommates. And there he is. The one who Mingyu has decided to blame for the mess. Yoon Jeonghan. Standing confidently, like his party didn't ruin Mingyu's campus love story. Surrounded by his equally evil minions having eggs with toast. Ugh! 

"Who died?" Seungkwan. Oh. Mingyu didn't see him sitting by the small kitchen island. 

"Your manners." Mingyu supplies calmly and Seungkwan makes a face at him back.

"Now. Now. If you can't tell, I am still high on the afterglow of the great party _I_ threw last night so no arguing children, please." Jeonghan says as he moves to stand between the two who look like their fingers should twitch to reach for their holstered guns at any moment.

He turns to Mingyu with an expression that is meant to be sympathetic but misses by a mile and looks pitying instead. "Now Mingyu, would you like to share with your dear well-meaning friends and new roommates what has got you looking so pissy on this bright, beautiful morning?"

Mingyu collapses on one of the stools. He has been reliving the incident the whole night and therefore, is in absolutely no mood to recount it once again. But then again... what's one more time. He might be hot as fuck, and a good cook, and sure he usually starts for the varsity basketball team, sure he's all that... and more. But he knows he's not a problem solver. And this mess is like when he spilled red kool-aid on his mum's brand new cream coloured rug - It will get worse the longer he goes without asking for help cleaning it up. 

"Do you know Wonwoo?" He begins voice barely audible over the breakfast din that comes to a halt all at once.

"What did you do?" Jeonghan answers with a question, voice equal parts worry and fear.

"Wait, Wonwoo? Isn't that the guy you drool after in the cafeteria?" Minghao adds to the pile of unanswered questions. Seriously man, fuck Minghao and his perfect memory.

Jeonghan gasps, eyes going wide in genuine surprise, "You have a crush on Wonwoo? _My_ Wonwoo? My roommate has a crush on Wonwoo." He babbles from what Mingyu assumes is shock.

"I'm sure its nothing super serious, he probably spilt a drink on him or something," Seungkwan adds trying to embarrass him, _oh if he only knew!_

"Worse." Mingyu says shaking his head.

"Did you trip and fall in front of him and... I don't know... lose your front teeth?" Minghao

"Worse" Mingyu repeats.

Vernon seems to snap back into the conversation at that and says thoughtfully, "Ya like... You can literally see all his teeth in his mouth'. 

"What did you do?" Jeonghan asks again imploringly and Mingyu begins...

* * *

"That's..." Seungkwan trails off, clearly at a loss of words after listening to Mingyu's story. 

"Horrible" Minghao laughs. 

"You're dead. You should have thought about Seungcheol before you did this. You know how he gets about the things Jihoonie likes. If Seungcheol finds out you offered to _undress_ Wonwoo in the middle of my party he's gonna kill you, I swear." Jeonghan is jamming his finger repeatedly at Mingyu's chest as his voice continues to rise in pitch as he finally runs out of breath and sounding and looking a lot more panicked than he did when Mingyu first entered the kitchen.

Yes, Mingyu is well aware he fucked up. He does _not_ need to be reminded that Seungcheol... wait. What? _Seungcheol?_ Did Jeonghan just say Seungcheol and Jihoon? What do the basketball captain and his boyfriend have to do with this whole situation he wonders. And asks as much. Which turns out to be another mistake.

"Don't you know? Don't you know anything about your so-called 'crush'?" Jeonghan asks making quotation marks in the air.

"Do you kids these days even _try_ to stalk your crushes a little bit or not? Have you even checked his Insta? Did you find out his class schedule? His home phone number? NO? What the fuck is wrong with this generation?" At the rate he's going, Mingyu thinks Jeonghan is going to have a few grey hairs by lunch before Vernon, ever the voice of reason interrupts. 

"I don't think normal people in _any_ generation did all that, Hyung." He receives a withering look from Jeonghan at that and promptly shuts up.

"So what? How do they know Wonwoo?" Mingyu almost shouts.

Jeonghan collapses on the sofa with a huff. "Wonwoo is Jihoon's roommate." He declares. As if he's telling the lead actor of some melodrama that the object of his affections is dead... or worse _married._

Roommate. Wonwoo's roommate is Jihoon Hyung. Jihoon Hyung who is Seungcheol Hyung's highschool sweetheart. Who is on the team with Mingyu. Well... Wonwoo is not the unreachable upperclassman after all.

Suddenly, Mingyu doesn't hate his life as much.

* * *

Unaware of the unnecessary tension that is going to fall upon his surprisingly beefy shoulders, Lee Jihoon returns to his shared place with Wonwoo the day after 'the party'. he finds his roommate on the sofa watching some animation and eating fried chicken from a take-out box. He turns his head to the sound of the door opening and gives Jihoon the bro-nod. It is the smallest nod in the entire nod family. a simple upward jutting of the chin that all the 'cool dude-bros' in campus use in lieu of an actual greeting. But he's travelled a formidable distance by KTX today, he's sweaty and it is not a stupidly sentimental hug or an excitable barrage of questions, so he'll take it.

Jihoon sits beside his roommate after his shower and picks up a chicken wing from the box Wonwoo has shifted to sit in between them as he starts to watch whatever show Wonwoo is watching. 

"All good back home?" Wonwoo asks.

"Yeah," Jihoon replies and the silence that follows this exchange lasts the rest of the evening. 

Little did Jihoon know such instances of silence are going to be few and far apart this year. Even in his own peaceful home.

* * *

Wonwoo wakes up to the sound of loud voices from the living room. And to his surprise, it is not TV noises but real people noises. He opens his bedroom door and is hit with the unfortunate realisation that there are more people in his flat than there should be. Jihoon is there, of course, eating what seems to be pancakes. Seungcheol is there too, cooing over his boyfriend, looking unnecessarily happy at seeing him. Wasn't he in Busan too till like last week? _Whatever_ , Wonwoo thinks but he can't say he is surprised. He has good reasons to believe that Cheol is at their place more often than he is at his own. But Cheol is like a trademark nice guy who often buys him and Jihoon dinner and is a first-class gaming buddy so Wonwoo doesn't particularly mind. In fact, he quite likes the guy. He knows he has been dating Jihoon for longer than he knows the latter; but still, Wonwoo approves.

So those two are not what surprise Wonwoo. No. The real surprise is Junhui, sitting across from Jihoon and looking at Wonwoo with a wide, innocent smile on his face.

"Good morning Wonwoo!" He says "I bought you pancakes!" 

Which is... suspicious. Junhui is not a bad guy. Not at all. But they're all broke college students. What reason does Junhui have for spending money on _pancakes_ on a random day?

"Why" Wonwoo raises an eyebrow. Does he need Wonwoo to lie to his mom again? Does he need help hiding a body? Who knows at this point. 

At his question, Jun at least has the decency to look sheepish. "They're 'I'm sorry pancakes'." He says. "You know. For leaving you alone at Hannie Hyung's party." _The party._ Wonwoo can feel his insides cringing at the memory so he focuses on the less important details. 

"Then why does Jihoonie have pancakes?" He asks.

"He's... eating mine actually." Junhui explains, but to his credit, he at least tries to hide his bitterness at the fact. Seungcheol's watching after all. If he so wishes, he would let Jihoon eat _Junhui_ for all he cares. So that makes sense.

"Wait. Wonwoo was at Hannie's party? How come I didn't see him?" Seungcheol inquires looking as if he genuinely regrets not running into Wonwoo. 

"I left early." Wonwoo tells him keeping his eyes down.

"How early?" Seunghceol sounds like a warden sometimes. Wonwoo hates when he does.

"Very early." He tries to shut the topic down.

"Wonwoo" Seungcheol has left Jihoon's side and is now walking towards Wonwoo looking like he thinks Wonwoo's the one who needs to hide a body. Fuck's sake. "Did something happen? Did... someone say something. You can tell me I'll kill them." And Wonwoo does _not_ doubt that. 

Jihoon comes to his rescue luckily. "Stop being a psychopath Cheol. I'm sure Won was just tired and bored. I mean he did go for Jun and Jun left him alone. So of course he left. Right?"

Jihoon is looking at him pointedly as if he knows Wonwoo needs an escape. But if Wonwoo doesn't get it off his chest, he'll keep worrying about it. And if he keeps worrying, Cheol will kill Tall, dark, handsome. And he can't have that on his conscience. So he takes a deep breath and prepares himself to narrate the story to cement his nerd throne.

"Actually, there was this guy, umm... I don't know his name but I'm pretty sure he's in our uni..." God... He can practically hear his friend's teasing him about this till his death! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you think in the comments.  
> \- Nomo


	3. Games People Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu tries to bridge the social gap between Wonwoo and him. Jihoon has some fun of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop Woop new chapter right away! All your kind words and kudos got me working faster!! Although this chapter is more filler fluff than plot, I hope you enjoy! I wrote it at like 3:00 am and tried my best to correct all the errors. But apologies for any slipped through regardless!  
> Also important disclaimer: this is entirely fictitious and I know nothing of universities in Korea.
> 
> \- Nomo

The holy grounds of the SNU, home to 30,000 odd students is, like any other institution in the world, home to many many legends. For example, it is a firm belief that coming to live on the campus on a new moon night guarantees you passing grades that year. Or, kissing your partner behind the old biology lab means you'll break up within the week. Feeding the pigeons near the small quadrangle blesses you with good news and so on. There are professors some claim are beyond a hundred years old and then there are also whispers about undead students that people will swear have been in the same course for decades. There is only one legend, however, that Mingyu can vouch is 100% true. It is not as much of an urban legend as the others mentioned before. Sceptics may claim that it is not as interesting either. But to Mingyu, Seungheol and Jihoon's love affair is the ultimate stuff of legends!

Anyone who knows either of them knows the couple have been together since Highschool. Still, not a single soul knows exactly how they came to be together, and the very few select ones privy to that knowledge, guard the secret as if it is their own. By the virtue of being a year older than his boyfriend, Seungcheol came to SNU first. Armed with a fancy full-ride sports scholarship, Choi Seungcheol had immediately caught the attention of the entire campus. And how could he not! The guy looked like he could bend a crowbar with his bare hands but had such a disarmingly innocent smile that one would be convinced he wouldn't hurt a fly. He could outdrink seasoned seniors at parties and team dinners and also always made time for anybody who seemed to ask for help. You can imagine how surprised (read: 'jealous') his peers must have been when they realised that he managed to stay comfortably in the top half of all his classes too! So it suffices to say that it wasn't a surprise to anybody that Seungcheol had gotten more than his share of admirers in the throng of college-goers. Within the first couple of months itself, he had gotten used to lingering hands on his biceps and fluttering eyelashes that foretold words like, "So... is there someone you are... perhaps... seeing?" and whoever asked this or any variation of this question was rewarded with the most endearing 'Seungcheol smile' in the guy's repertoire. It seems to take over his entire face; eyes crinkled enough to make way for prominent crow's feet and cheeks pushed all the way to his prominent ears giving the impression of ultimate youthful innocence. "Actually..." he would say shyly, "there is."

And then with the yearning of a soldier at war in a faraway land, he would tell anyone who would care to listen about _his Jihoonie_. Whipping up approximately 300 pictures on his phone, for presentation purposes, of course, he would launch into a detailed description of his boyfriend who was back in his hometown. Jihoon, who plays a million and one instruments- if Seungcheol is to be believed, who played baseball in middle school, who sings like a literal angel, who he has face times scheduled with daily, who doesn't hold back on scolding him when need be, and most importantly, who seemingly loves Seungcheol as much as he loves him. By the time Seungcheol is tired of talking, even his most ardent of pursuers are forced to smile and say, "he sounds wonderful! You are both so lucky Cheol!" and Cheol just sighs affectionately.

It is mostly due to this PR that Lee Jihoon is somewhat of a celebrity already by the time he follows his older boyfriend to SNU a year later. But he is quick to live up to the hype too. Jihoon is all shy looks and dimpled smiles until he finds something that warrants his focus. Then Jihoon stands with his back straight, wide shoulders squared, commanding respect from people around him. Much like his boyfriend, Jihoon comes to be not only admired but respected around campus. And if he constantly turns heads by refusing to dress in anything that is not tight-fitting t-shirts over a sturdy frame, that seems to announce- ' _yes, I work out with my incredibly buff boyfriend. Yes, we're both ripped as fuck!',_ or simple button-down shirts with too many buttons left open, then well... no one expected any differently.

As a direct result of being Seungcheol's team-mate, Mingyu has somewhat of a clearer picture of the uni's favourite power-couple. Among company, you could easily mistake them as friends, but as the crowds start to thin, they seem to drift closer to each other; Seunghceol's hand on his back, Jihoon's head on his chest, talking quietly in some corner. Trying to stay away from any attention or fan-fair. After a particularly tough match or practice, the team will tip-toe behind Jihoon, depending on him to take the edge off their captain's ire. Jihoon will sit in front of him, put both his hands on his cheeks or squeeze his shoulders and say a few precious words that the rest are too cowardly to eavesdrop on. After a few minutes, Seungcheol will stand in front of them with a tentative, mollifying smile and say "Good job yeah? Tomorrow we'll work harder." The team agrees enthusiastically and Jihoon will lead Seungcheol away with a grounding pressure on his hands.

Often, Mingyu will walk with Seungcheol to the music department at the end of a long day to find Jihoon holed up in a studio. Mingyu observes with something akin to envy as his senior coaxes his stubborn lover out with promises of meat and rice and Jihoon silently follows. Most nights, they walk towards Mngyu's residence making small talk amongst themselves. Mingyu will complain to Jihoon about a particularly harsh remark Seungcheol made at practice and Jihoon will nudge Seungcheol verbally with something that sounds a lot like, "You know he loves you Mingyu, and he also knows how much you look up to him.", followed by a pointed look and Seungcheol will sigh helplessly and relent. "Yeah. You sure do work hard kid." he admits with a few hard slaps to Mingyu's back. Mingyu can barely stop himself from smiling. Other nights, Jihoon is too tired, too sleepy to walk. On such nights, Seungcheol will instinctively bend down a little and Jihoon will hop on his back, arms tight around his neck and eyes barely open. They don't talk a lot on these nights but when they reach Mingyu's home, Jihoon will lovingly pat his cheek from his perch and mutter a fond, half-awake, _"sleep well Minggu."_ that makes Mingyu feel like he's found elder brothers he never had growing up.

* * *

Given their relationship then, it is no surprise that Jihoon is sitting on the bleachers at their first practice of the new year with headphones that look too large and chunky on his delicate face and an open notebook on his lap. But seeing him there makes Mingyu extra happy today. Because now he knows his Jihoonie Hyung is more than a loved Hyung. He is Wonwoo's _roommate_. Even just the thought makes him needlessly giggly. All those years of praying for good luck on birthdays and new years are finally paying off! But he can't get too ahead of himself, he hasn't figured out what that Wen Junhui guy means to Wonwoo yet. 

He waits patiently for practice to end and after a quick shower, walks up to where Jihoon and Seungcheol are already waiting for him. He picks up his pace as he approaches the two wanting to maximize the time he spends with them today and soon they're off to Mingyu's new apartment to drop him off before they make the familiar hike to Jihoon's place. _Jihoon and Wonwoo's_ his mind reminds him giddily. So half-way to his house, he begins tentatively, hands in his pockets, shifty eyes cast downward. Looking like he's about to admit to looting a bank.

"Jihoonie Hyung, actually... I... I wanted to ask you something. If that's okay umm... with you." He looks sideways to find both his companions looking at him like they're still filtering all the hedges in that one sentence. By now they've reached the fork where Mingyu usually separates from them so all of them have stopped awkwardly the two looking at him with eager eyes waiting for some sort of clarity. So he tries again.

"I just have a question about your roommate." At this, Jihoon's eyes light up with recognition and understanding as he waits for the actual question. Right. He needs to ask.

"So... your roommate Hyung, umm Wonwoo? Is he umm... are he and Wen Junhui like... anything?"

"What?" Jihoon looks thoroughly confused again. "Are you asking me if Wonwoo and Jun are dating? Why?"

 _Jun_ Mingyu internally sulks, _not only are Wonwoo and he close but Jihoon has a sweet nickname for him. God damn it_. But right now is not the time for jealousy. He needs to come up with an explanation. A good one. Now...

"Actually... I have this umm... friend? And he kinda has a small crush on Junhui? But... but... he saw Wonwoo, I mean, your roommate, with him at Hannie Hyung's party and so he felt bad. Like really bad. You know? So umm... I think I'm asking for him... Yeah." Wow! His eloquence was going to put Marc Antony to shame. Good thing nobody else's fate depends on his speech; just his own, unfortunately. "So, are they?" he finishes pitifully.

Jihoon is looking at him like he is endlessly entertained. Seungcheol has his brows furrowed and he looks like he doesn't believe a single word that he has just heard come out from Mingyu's mouth, and Mingyu understands that look. However, Mingyu doesn't know what he's said to warrant that kind of reaction but Jihoon genuinely looks like he'll start laughing and jumping up and down in glee. He's trying and failing _miserably_ at keeping a straight face. Jihoon takes a deep breath before he speaks.

"Did you... Did you _talk_ to Wonwoo at the party Minggu?" 

"Not... Not really... Not exactly... I" He gives up trying to finish that sentence because every word just seems to make Jihoon increasingly manic. instead, he sticks to his guns.

"So Junhui?" He presses.

"Right. I don't know how to tell you this." Jihoon looks unsure of how to proceed and Seungcheol seems even more confused now, Eyeing his boyfriend like every new word he says is new information to him too.

"They're not dating or anything... As far as I know, Jun is single." then after a small pause and a knowing look, "and Wonwoo too."

Mingyu has a minute to be afraid that he's been made before Jihoon continues speaking and he is afraid of something else entirely.

"But... there's something there you know. I mean, just yesterday, Junnie turned up at our place with pancakes for him... There's... this... this...." He's rubbing the fingers on his right hand against his thumb as if he's looking for the perfect word. "Tension." He declares. "Yeah... There's this tension between them. Very weird." He concludes.

Seungcheol is making this face between horrified and confused that would honestly look better on Mingyu at this moment. Or maybe Mingyu's really making that face and just projecting.

"Tell your friend I'm sorry." Jihoon interrupts Mingyu's thoughts. Something about the way he's looking at him from under his lashes, one side of his mouth pulled up in a smile strikes Mingyu as mocking. But maybe its meant to be apologetic and Mingyu's heartbroken enough to misinterpret it. He doesn't stick around to find out.

"alright... okay... I'll see you later Hyung." He says before he all but bolts away from them.

* * *

Oh if only he was a little bit slower. Or if he had a few superpowers. Because then he would have caught Jihoon smiling like a conniving little cherub. Eyes narrowed into slits and a grin that would put the biggest movie villains to shame. He would have seen Seungcheol pull him closer, kiss him lovingly on his hair before saying with a laugh,

"So there's _tension_ between Jun and Wonwoo huh?" 

"Oh come on Cheollie! You know what this means, Minggu is Wonwoo's sweater guy" they both giggle at Jihoon's statement.

"I can't believe Wonwoo named him Tall, dark, handsome!" Seungcheol adds.

"Oh, that's nothing! You know he called you 'Big Jumpy' before he knew your name" 

"Wait, What?"

O... if Mingyu only knew...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most fics I've seen on here portray Jihoon as some kind of a blunt, curt, asshole so I wanted to do things a little differently. I don't think he hates people or anything, I guess as an introvert, he just takes time to open up. Also I kind of always see a lot of mischief in him... idk why!!!  
> \- Nomo

**Author's Note:**

> I will try and update this at least twice a week. Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas for other fics.


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